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Time to Vote! 80's Cartoon Inspired Outfits

Imagine Gnats--I Pity the Fool

Woo-hoo!! I'm so excited that today is finally here and I get to share my first look with you! I am super in love with this outfit, and I hope you will be too. When I heard the theme, it took me a little time to settle on a cartoon... and then my dear friend Kat reminded me about this, "Catch the action! Catch the mystery! On my show! The best show! Mister T!" That's right, my friends, today we are celebrating Mr. T. More accurately, a pre-teen-girl-Mr-T-inspired look. I wanted all of the pieces of this outfit to relate back to the classic Mr. T wardrobe, but be totally wearable at the same time, either together or separately. If there's one sewing thing that drives me batty, it's spending a bunch of time of garments that I know won't be worn more than once.

So, let's dive into the details of this outfit, shall we? The pants are self-drafted elastic-waist pants with elastic also at the hem (inspired by the Papercut Patterns Anima Pant), made with a funky brown and green animal print. The shirt is my own pattern, the imagine gnats tumble tee, with a modified neckline and fully lined so that it is two comfy layers of natural double gauze, double hemmed, and the arms are finished with gold bias tape. On the back neckline of the shirt is hand embroidered "I pity the fool" in gold metallic thread. I also started with the tumble tee pattern for the vest, drafting an updated and more feminine version of this Mr. T staple but keeping the denim look by using bradford herringbone twill and accenting the back with a piece of metallic gold pleather. But the thing I love the most about this vest is the amazing lining, which is white silk (yes, silk!!) with metallic gold feathers printed on it. I wanted to interpret Mr. T's bling in a wearable way, but was totally stuck on how to do that until I found this amazing gold lamé quilted fabric, and bam! I knew that a chunky infinity scarf (made using this tutorial) would be perfection. The final accessory is a pair of clip-on feather earrings, a super simple jewelry project using feathers from the craft store and basic clip-on earring posts.

Come check out more pictures and details from the photo shoot on my blog, imagine gnats, but don't forget to vote first!

Spiegelstiksels - A dress for Cheetara

Hello everyone! How I loved the first theme for this season! I’m sure I wasn’t the only one having
a very hard time choosing the 80’s cartoon I loved most. Finally I chose ThunderCats to be my
inspiration. It was the character Cheetara who drew
my attention, especially those figures around her eyes. Thinking about what Cheetara would look
like in a dress, I decided to take these red figures as my starting point. The figures were drawn into
the bodice pattern and from there on I simply added more lines, to end up with this pieced dress.
Well, actually it wasn’t that simple. I needed to be sure that the basic pattern had a perfect fit before
adding the lines, because once the pieces were cut I couldn’t make any more adjustments. Otherwise
the corners of the different pieces wouldn’t turn out crisp. So some muslin dresses were involved in
the process.

Of course Cheetara would need a jacket for chilly evenings. What else could I choose then a faux
fur as the main fabric? For the lining I was actually looking for a dotted fabric (a cheetah is basically a large beige cat with black dots, don’t you
think?), when I remembered a beautiful off-white lawn in my stash with little black cats printed on
it. Don’t they remind you of Cheetara’s hair as well? The jacket is a very basic pattern. It’s simply
a bodice with a little extra width and length, of which all darts are eliminated, and a basic sleeve
pattern. Finally, I made a headband with cat ears out of the faux fur and the lawn, added to a piece
of gold-like bias tape. I ended up crimping my daughter’s hair for the pictures. After all, these were
the 80s.

I'm a proud 80's baby and when I first read what Week 1's theme was, I literally squealed out loud with excitement! My first reaction was Rainbow Brite, and then all of my other favorites came to mind- My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, TMNT, and so many more. I currently live in the "rainbow state," with a horse-obsessed four year old so I stuck with my gut and started drafting my Rainbow Brite inspired entry: a flutter sleeve jumpsuit and rainbow parachute/circle skirt.

Immediately following the welcome email, I left for a three week vacation on the mainland with my two girls. I had to be creative and flexible with my design so that it wouldn't keep me tied down to a machine all night, and made from supplies I could easily pick up at a local fabric store. I wanted to somehow incorporate rainbow colors without being too cheesy. One of my favorite memories as a child was when we got to play with the parachute in gym class (you know you loved that day the most too!). I thought to make a circle skirt from iridescent sheer organza, with a soft knit waistband to keep it light for parachute play and functional for wear. I adored wearing jumpsuits as a kid, so comfy and easy (especially those MC Hammer styles!). I drafted a triple flutter sleeve woven top, inspired by the pinafore style worn by Rainbow Brite, and a roomy pleated knit pant together to create a playful romper that would be perfect for a bare-back horse ride. Jumpsuits and rompers are super in style right now, and I loved to create a unique take on a hot trend. I hand dyed the material to a subtle rose pink, knowing she would be modeling on a pristine white horse. I hand beaded each of the three flutters and across the top of the bodice to emulate rainbows and to add a pop of color. And thanks to some wonderful friends at Hardy Farms, my daughter got to play with a beautiful white horse, Doc, just like Rainbow Brite! The jumpsuit is the perfect ode to the 80s and the parachute/circle skirt will be a well loved novelty for my girls. The entire ensemble is a view into my joyous childhood. It was wonderful to share a flashback to my youth with my daughter and see her beaming with delight at the experience.
Head over to the blog to see more!

Compagnie M.--Super Mario
Hello I’m Marte from Compagnie M. and I’m proud to present you my first PR&P outfit. When I received the ‘80s cartoons theme, I started digging into my memories. I can remember that my sister and I got our very first Gameboy with the iconic game Super Mario in the late ‘80s! I must not tell you that this present was a special one to me? My very first computer game! As I’m totally into dungarees at the moment, Super Mario and his friend Luigi became my inspiration for this first challenge.

I paired my own new Charles pants / dungarees pattern with the Ole cardigan by Zonen09. This way the total outfit is designed in Belgium! Hooray! :) I added some small details like the button badge, an ‘80s hair tie and look at those sneakers. We love them! For the Charles I choose a dark blue denim, that matches with one of my all time favourite Petit Pan fabrics perfectly well. I don’t have to tell you anymore that I’m a big fan of piping? Especially white one. Always matches and it’s a beautiful contrast with the dark blue. The buttons were sewn on in a ‘flower shape’. The Ole pattern is a reversible cardigan, sewn with nicky velours and some stretch terry with a very light golden sparkle. For true stars! Just like the ‘golden kamsnaps’. When you pair this Ole with my Charles, the orange colour is perfect. But what if you want to pair it with a more subtle outfit? Just turn it inside out and this Ole can be matched with all your favourite garments. Extra soft and warm to wear for the coming winter.

Want to read more about my first PR&P outfit: I have a lot of pictures waiting for you over at Compagnie M.

Shaffer Sisters--Top Duck

We spent most of the 80s in diapers and toddler-hood, so
we were introduced to the cartoons of the 80s in after school reruns in
the 90s. A favorite after school catch was Duck Tales. To 3 girls from a
small town the global experience of 4 little ducks, their uncle and his
pilot Launchpad was one of intrigue and excitement. But even with the
most extreme situations they always returned home safely. In a small way
the story line of duck tales illuminates the essence of childhood
dreams; making big plans, having adventures, and returning safely home.

The
outfit was based off the aviator style of character of Launchpad. The
blousiness of the tunic sleeves is a nod to the sleeve of Launchpad's
jacket. The asymmetrical quilting on the aviator style vest is
representative of the unexpected twists and turns the characters
experienced in each episode. The colors of Huey is reflected in the red
tuxedo strip running down the leg, Dewey is found in the blue of the
jegging, Louie in the color of the tunic, the pink flowers in the scarf
are represent the character of Webbie. Scrooge and his love of the monetary is represented in the brass V on the side of the pants. Come check out the complete look and reflections at Shaffer Sisters.

I grew up in the 1980s, so I was really excited about the theme for Week 1, until I realized I had to pick just one 1980s cartoon! What a hard choice! I knew that I wanted to make this an everyday outfit, so with that in mind, I narrowed it down to a few choices. Since I was sewing for my seven-year-old, I enlisted his help to make the final decision. Jamie's choice? Inspector Gadget! Here's my Go, Go Gadget Fashion ensemble, an everyday outfit inspired by Gadget's own classic inspector's wardrobe with hidden accents that represent his robotic gadgets!

The set is made up of three pieces - jacket, top and pants. I designed the jacket with a trench coat style fit, but with a shorter length to make it more practical for my little guy. Sewn with gray cotton twill and lined with a cotton/linen blend, the jacket is pieced together in the front with plenty of matching topstitching, and it has two huge buttoned pockets for storing notepads and magnifying glasses. The Henley-style top is sewn with cotton pique fabric and cotton/spandex ribbing with cotton/linen accent on the placket. Finally, the royal blue corduroy pants feature double knees, a zipper fly, an elastic back waist, belt loops and a back yoke. For lots more pictures of Inspector Jamie and more details about all three pieces, click over to my blog: Fishsticks Designs.

HOW FUN!!!! it was not an easy choice at all- which I love. I'm just gonna steal that Cheetara outfit for me! I don't even know who Cheetara is, but apparently I need to become her friend and borrow her clothes.

I'm loving all the clean sewing and multiple textures. All are so wearable. WELL DONE, ladies!

I PITY THE FOOL who tries to choose the TOP DUCK among these entries. INSPECT every seam and maybe the winner will SHINE BRIGHTLY. No CHEETING about this SUPER MARvelous bunch of sewing by these fantastic ladies! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself. What I thought would be a dull week has turned out soooooo interesting and fun!!!)

As a teenager of the 80's I'm familiar with all of the characters portrayed here and it's very difficult to choose just one. You gals have done such a wonderful job here, I'm glad that I'm not a real judge and this isn't the real show. I think that you girls REALLY need to try out for the show! You all have real talent.